Last year I joined my friend and pastor Leroy Barber on a 65-mile bicycle ride from La Grange, GA to Atlanta, GA to support him in his effort to raise funds for Mission Year. Along with another friend and coworker, Nate Ledbetter, we spent a day of adventure and camaraderie on bicycles trudging through mile after slow mile, aiming for longevity rather than speed – similar to how we do it in urban ministry.

This year we decided to ride more than double the distance. Our goal is to ride from Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA (approx. 174 miles) on the weekend of Nov 20-21. A larger group of friends has assembled, each using the event to raise money for a ministry where he/she works or volunteers. We decided to call this event the Cycle of Love 2010 (cycleoflove.org) as we all share a love for our neighbor – our community of Historic South Atlanta.

I chose to represent the South Atlanta Bike Shop – a youth development program/ministry I started 5 months ago. I shared the story and heart of this program in our last family newsletter, which you can read here on our blog . In short, the program allows youth from our community to work in the bike shop and with the points they earn they can purchase a bicycle of their own. In the process they work alongside a Christian mechanic/mentor that holds them to a high standard of work ethic and performance.

Joining me on this trip will also be Evan and Devin, two of the boys that have been participating in the bike shop. I am so excited about this because these two will spend two days on the road riding their bicycles alongside black and white urban ministry leaders, an experience that cannot be substituted with any afternoon activity.

As I prepare for the longest bike ride of my life to represent the ministry of the South Atlanta Bike Shop, I wanted to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting this ministry in a two-fold way, both components of which are equally important in order for the ministry to function:

  1. Contribute towards the operation of the bike shop (rent, tools, parts, helmets, bike locks)
  2. Contribute towards our family support account to allow us to dedicate time to this ministry

Thank you for your continued support whether financial or through prayer. We could not do the work we do without you.

Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya, Tobi and Eli